User blog:Terry the Cat/NX Chapter 008: Venom Swamp! Prince of the Night Rides
It was Friday, the day of reckoning for the fledgling Buddyfight Club. By the end of the school day, either there were enough members to allow the club to be recognized by the school or they would be one member short, and the club would be forced to disband. Three of the now four club members were busy creating a strategy for their next challenger. "It's certainly not going to be me," Katarina said to the group. "I've already lost three in a row. I can't face another loss like that." "Well I can't do it," Asaka insisted. "If what you guys are saying about this Shingo guy is true, I'll just lose as well." "Well I'm not doing it," Raiki told them. "I'm tired of being the Buddyfight monkey around here. I'm taking the day off." "Well I can't fight him!" Katarina insisted. "I don't want to deck out on my second turn!" "Maybe don't play a deck that forces you to deck out!" Raiki shouted. "Ever think of that?" "That's not how Buddyfight works!" Katarina told him. "Once you make a Buddy Contract, you're bound to that Buddy's deck." The three argued like this for about fifteen minutes until the door opened. All the club members could do now is hope that whoever came through the door was not Shingo Oda. Silence filled the room. It was Dan Shidou, the remaining club member. All eyes were now on him as he entered the room. "What?" Dan asked after looking around the room. "We had an emergency club meeting while you were out," Katarina told him. "We had a vote and it was unanimous. You're our Designated Buddyfighter when Shingo arrives." "Hold on, hold on just a minute," Dan protested, "Designated Buddyfighter? And you had a club meeting without me?!" "We didn't want to risk a tie," Katarina answered calmly. "It would have been 3-1!" Dan insisted. "Okay," Katarina then said. "Club vote. All in favor of Dan fighting Shingo, raise your hand." All three of their hands shot up immediately. "Aye!" said a voice behind Dan, who immediately looked over his shoulder to see Danzari raise his hand as well. "Danzari?!" "Come on now, Shidou-kun," his Buddy replied. "This is Buddyfight we're talking about here. Nothing to worry about." At that moment, Shingo Oda walked into the room. "Well, well, well, take a look at the menagerie," he said to the group. "Raiki, and his Buddy, Evoknight Kraken. And the principal's daughter, with Brave-X. So your club grows by double, and I'm the deciding factor in whether your club survives or not. So who will fight me?" Dan turned around. "I will." "So it is as fate foretold," Shingo answered him. "Very well. I shall accept whatever judgment fate has in store for me." "So the condition is still that if I win, you join the Buddyfight Club, right?" "I will do whatever fate commands me to do," Shingo answered back. "As a Prince of the Night, it must be so. However, we shall not fight in this room." "What do you mean?" "Follow me." ---- Before long, they arrived to see the gymnasium surprisingly empty. "This can't be possible," Katarina protested. "The Athletics Club has this gym booked for the rest of the month. How did you...?" Shingo interrupted her with a simple answer: "I have my ways..." ---- A half hour earlier, Shingo and Wladios snuck into the gym in an effort to clear the room of athletes. "Alright, Wladios," Shingo said quietly to his Buddy, "Do the hundred bats thing!" "With pleasure," Wladios answered him, before darting towards the ceiling. Shingo quietly maneuvered himself towards the light box, where he somehow managed to discreetly shut off all power to the gym. Wladios then shined a flashlight on himself, revealing his bat-like shadow. "Mortal fools!" Wladios proclaimed. "Begone from this wretched place and never return, or you will face the wrath of a swarm of bats!" His body then disappeared into a puff of smoke, which, when dissipated, revealed a swarm of one hundred bats. He dispensed with the group of athletes with ease. ---- Shingo and Wladios were just standing at the entrance while the others looked at them with condescension. "Don't judge me..." Shingo told them. "Besides, we get to have a real Buddyfight, complete with Luminize." "If you insist," Dan answered him. The group then entered the gym. "Are you ready, Dan?" Shingo asked him after everything was set up. "Ready as I'll ever be," Dan answered him. "The path of darkness is rife with plagues and disasters! Luminize! Venomous Disaster!" "The world is but a dream, but illusions are what you make of them! Luminize! Illusion Ritual!" "BUDDYFIGHT!!!" "Raise the flag!" Both fighters said at once. "Darkness Dragon World!" "Magic World!" "My buddy is Deathraider Wladios!" "Mine is Illusion Dragon, Danzari!" "I'll go first," Shingo announced, "Draw, charge and draw! I equip Poison Spear, Dragotoxin, then set two Venom Swamp cards from my hand cards." "So that's the card that allows him to win," Raiki observed. "I'll attack you with my item of darkness!" Shingo said excitedly. (Dan: 10→8) Dan also had to send the top two cards of his deck to the drop zone. "This will send chills down your spine!" Shingo cast the spell called Venom Drain, which dealt two damage to Dan and sent two more cards to the drop zone. (Dan: 8→6) END OF MOVE "He's already lost four life," Asaka told the others. "Dan, calm down!" Katarina tried to cheer him on. "It's still early!" "Maybe the Darkvenom deck scares him as much as it does us," Raiki observed. "He probably doesn't know if he can beat it." Shingo laughed at the idea. "No one can defeat me," he told them. "Residing within me are powers far beyond mortal comprehension." He then threw his coat into the air, revealing a mass of writing and numbers running up and down his arms. "This is the power vested in me by my fellow Darkness Dragons, the Numbers Arms!" "The what...?" Dan tried to ask. "Don't let him use his scare tactics on you!" Katarina told him. "He's not really from another world." "Uh... of course!" Dan answered her. "Draw, then charge and draw! I call Illusion Dragon, Dancat to the center! My gauge increases by one and I draw one card. Then I use Dancat to Buddy Call Illusion Dragon, Danzari to the center!" (Dan: 6→7) "It's a bit warm in here," Danzari said as he entered the field in his true form. "Shall we turn up the chill, Shidou-kun?" "Let's do it!" Dan replied quickly. "But first, I call Umaro and Ikaron, then they Link Attack you, Shingo!" The two ghostly knights worked together to deal three damage to Shingo. (Shingo: 10→7) "Alright!" Raiki said excitedly. "Now they're tied!" "Here we go!" Dan then said to his opponent, using Danzari to attack. "I cast! Black Dragon Shield!" Shingo responded. (Shingo: 7→8) "Don't forget, Danzari has Double Attack!" Danzari's attack landed this time. (Shingo: 8→6) "Now Dan has the lead!" Asaka told the others. END OF MOVE "Not bad," Shingo told his opponent. "Now it's time to reveal my other power. Draw, charge and draw! "I pay 2 life! (Shingo: 6→4→5) Deathraider Wladios to the center, I Buddy Call thee!" Wladios jumped onto the field in his giant dragon form. "This isn't an unhappy ritual," Wladios told Danzari, "This is a fight for the fate of two worlds..." "That's the exact same thing he told Ellie..." Katarina realized Shingo meant business. "Next, I cast Darkness Flash, which reduces the size of all my monsters by 1 during this turn," Shingo continued. "This allows me to call Scarlet Vampir and Werewolf Dragon, Xander!" (Shingo: 5→2) "This is not good, Shidou-kun..." Danzari told Dan. "Darkvenom Dragons," Shingo began to chant, "Heed my call. Lay waste to your enemies! Grant me the victory I desire! Wladios' effect activate! Drop another card!" Dan did as the effect bid him. "Then, I look at the top ten cards of my deck. Cast! Venom Swamp! Two-card Set! And then, draw I one card." At that moment, two Venom Swamp cards flew out of his hand and onto the field. Dan was not sure what to do. There was now four Venom Swamp cards on the field, and four cards that can attack. Dan had 33 cards left in his deck. No matter what, Dan would be in trouble. "My power will only continue to grow, until it grows too large for this world to contain!" Shingo continued, turning Wladios' card sideways, then destroying Scarlet Vampir, allowing Wladios to get 20000 Power and an extra critical. Dan was down to 28 cards in deck, but luckily for him, his Buddy remained standing due to Soulguard. (Shingo: 2→4) Shingo then attacked with Xander, but Soulguard once again allowed Danzari to stay on the field. 24 cards. "Dan! Just keep Danzari on the field!" Katarina told him. "I will." "Now watch as I exceed the surly bonds of the Earth!" Shingo told him as he attacked with Wladios a second time. (Shingo: 4→6) 20 cards. "And ascend to the heavens!" He then attacked with his item. Although the attack would not hit, it still dealt damage to Dan's deck. 16 cards. Danzari had no souls left. "That was close..." Dan said to himself. "You haven't even begun to see my power," Shingo quickly responded as if he heard his opponent. "What?!" "Final Phase! Release the darkness within you and dominate the field!" "That card..." Raiki said to himself. "Master of Venom Swamp!" Katarina clarified. Dan turned around and asked "Master of Venom Swamp?" "It's an Impact that does not deal direct damage to you, per se, but it gives Shingo another battle phase." Katarina explained to him. "That is correct," Shingo added. "You have sixteen cards left in your deck, and I have four attacks. This is the key to my victory." He then attacked for a third time with Wladios. (Shingo: 6→8) Danzari was finally destroyed. 12 cards. "He's now wide open for attack!" Asaka complained. "How much more can you endure?" Shingo asked his opponent while attacking with Wladios for the fourth time. (Dan: 7→5) (Shingo: 8→10) 8 cards. "Receive the judgment of darkness!" He attacked with Xander, but... "I cast! Great Spell, Time Leap!" "What?!" "When my opponent declares a third attack or more, I can end the battle phase right here. However, I must pay 4 life to activate it." (Dan: 5→1) "In addition, your attack is negated and my deck is safe." END OF MOVE "Amazing!" Katarina exclaimed, her hands together as if in a prayer. "He was able to survive..." Raiki observed. "But why didn't he activate that card sooner?" "Dan must have figured his opponent had an Impact in his hand," Katarina explained. "So even if he ended his opponent's first battle phase, Shingo could have just used that Impact anyways." "Oh I get it now." Dan was breathing heavily. "Danzari," he said quietly to his Buddy, "I remember something." "Oh hoo? What's that, Shidou-kun?" "I remember fighting this guy in a tournament... But I can't remember which one." "Hmm... Slowly regaining our memories, are we?" "It's my turn..." "Better think of something fast," Shingo told him. "You only have eight cards in your deck. Six after your draw phase. Four if you decide to call Danzari again." "I draw, then I charge and draw!!! Call! Danzari!" "Four cards. Just like I said," Shingo told him. "If fate has foretold you to win, you must win this turn." "Next, I call Knight of Plenty, Ikaron. Do a Link Attack on Wladios!" Their attack was successful, leading Shingo open to attack. "Go for it, Dan!" Asaka said in a surprising extrovert moment. "Shingo has 10 life left," Katarina reminded the group. "Dan has 1 life and four cards left in the deck. I just hope he has that card in his hand." "Danzari, attack the fighter!" Dan continued his turn. "I cast! Poison River!" Shingo responded. "The attack is nullified!" "Danzari, double attack!" This time the attack hit. (Shingo: 10→8) Shingo only laughed. "Looks like fate has decided in my favor. Game end." Dan smiled in response to that. "Not yet." "What?" "Final Phase! I cast Illusion Ritual, Danzari Storm!" Dan began to be surrounded by a blizzard. "Normally, I would have to pay 5 gauge, but that is decreased for each card in Danzari's soul. On top of that, it normally deals 5 damage, but that increases for each card at Rest on your field!" "No way..." "Shingo has three cards at rest, so that's 8 damage." Katarina explained to her. "Impact! Illusion Ritual! Danzari Storm!!!" The blizzard began to expand rapidly and envelop the entire field. Shingo had no defense against an attack like this. (Shingo: 8→0) Game End! Winner: Dan Shidou "Alright! We did it!" Dan was excited to have won. Dan then walked over to Shingo to see how he was doing. Shingo was a bit cold, but unhurt. The two shook hands. "Aren't you going to welcome me to the club?" Shingo asked him. Dan laughed. "Welcome to the club, Shingo. Thanks to you, we have five club members. It's official." Katarina handed him a paper. "This is the club registration form," she explained. "We all need to sign this so I can send it to the principal." After they had all done so, Katarina ran off to the principal's office so the form could be approved. ---- Dan: And now for the card intro segment! At the end of each episode, I'll talk about an important card you'll need to think about using when you Buddyfight. This week's card is Shingo's Impact card, Master of Venom Swamp. This Impact isn't like other Impact cards that deal instant damage to your opponent. Instead, it restands all cards on your field so you can attack with them again. This card is paired really well with the Venom Swamp spell to really devastate your opponent's deck, forcing them to run out of cards. It's certainly a very annoying strategy for your opponent, but very rewarding for you. I hope everyone tries out this card at least once. With this card, you can take your skills to the next level! Let's Buddyfight! ---- Dan: We did it! Five club members! Now we can enjoy Buddyfight together. What's this? I'm a cat now? Nya! This can't be happening! Raiki: At least you became something people like. Dan: People like dogs too, though. Raiki: Not me. I'm allergic to... ah... AH-CHOO!!! Dan: Oh dear... Raiki: I'm allergic to myself now... Dan: How did we get into this mess? Find out next week! Until then, let's all have a good Buddyfight! Now if only I could hold my cards without thumbs... Next Chapter: Furry Friends! Dawn of the Werbeast King Category:Blog posts